July 21, 2015 7:29 AM

Wowser, it's the twenty-first already? Nothing too insane happened in two whole damn months. School, Kate, friends, Chloe, Rachel, homework, text, therapist. It felt like normal, boring life. Chloe's on three months sober, how cool is that? She's doing so good and I think she's starting to like therapy. Rachel has been calmer, but she was still very present on TV (more so because someone out there revealed she was preparing to become an actress) and still used her professional escape skills to hide (sometimes welcoming interactions, of course). As for me, I felt like I was becoming a better me, I guess I can say. Talking to people, whether it be friends, professors, strangers/classmates, was becoming easier and I felt myself becoming happier with myself. I passed Magic/Ritual and Lighting, woo! I have Life Drawing and Philosophy & Critical Theory, which are both interesting. Better than last quarter that's for sure. I can't believe I'm on my sixth quarter…

Speaking of Kate, we have a date today. It'll be a busy two days, that's for sure. I have no idea what we'll be doing, but I trust the day will be fine. Rachel's birthday is tomorrow! And Chloe's proposal! We've prepared two months for this. I personally think it's the best thing ever, but that's for Rachel to decide.


I tried to keep myself relaxed as today was the day I was going on a real, official date. I didn't know what to think. The feelings were real and were there and being reciprocated (I think), but of course, my anxiety tries to lead me to believe that none of this was real and I was just making it up! Like, maybe I was in a coma the whole time and it was all not real! Should I slap myself?! Yeah, then it'll take me back to that class! Yes Magic/Ritual! Dog, that class wasn't all that great... I could pinch myself!

Rachel was awake with me, helping me get dressed and finding the perfect outfit for the day. "It'll be super casual, so let's stick with hella casual." She said as she grabbed clothes from my dresser. Even she looked a little confused, like it was her first real date. She then grabbed the gray jacket she didn't like all that much, then throwing it at me. "Fuck it, nothing says "Max Caulfield" more than that."

I actually felt happy to wear it, on a date, no less. And she didn't say it with a mean tone, she was actually smiling.

"Let's see, this is cute," she found a white dress shirt, "It's going to be a little hot, so no fucking good in that. Then, just... be you. You already have her in the palm of her hand, but everyone loves cheesy and corny."

As I put my outfit together, Rachel stood by watching it happen. She had her arms crossed and resting her weight on one leg, "So, Chloe told me about your little exhibit you have."

"Oh, yeah! Shit, I totally forgot! Tomorrow night, I need you to check it out and see how it is! Maybe change something about it or hear your opinions?"

"Hell yeah I wanna see it! On my birthday, even. Only a fucking jealous asshole would say no. I have a stupid job thing I have to do, like an audition or whatever, but thank god it's at night."

She boosted my ego above the highest level, but all I did was smile and say, "I can't wait for you to see it." Yup, just an ordinary exhibit. Don't think of it as anything else. How the hell did I hide it from her this whole time? Not only that, how did we, Chloe and I, do it?

"Okay," she clapped her hands together and grabbed my face, "How are you going to act when you see her?"

"... Like myself?"

"Right, but what else?"

I couldn't think of a different answer. Being me was like its own personality trait—a big 'ol mix of awkward and a wreck.

"Flirty," She exaggerated, winking at me, "Just a little bit. Don't overdo it, or it'll be annoying."

I'm so bad at flirting… Not on purpose, anyway. My best lines just fell out of my mouth. It's cringe to watch is what I'm saying.

I nodded, but was kinda shaking my head at the same time, "No promises, but I'll try."

"You'll be fine. She already likes you, like I said, everyone loves corny."

Okay… Hi Kate! Why do I have to rehearse? I've known her for a while already. I guess because the feelings are different now. We're doing this in a more romantic sense. I'm freaking out!

I felt like I was a sweating, gross mess. I wish I wore my jacket, it made me more comfortable, but it was the hottest weather I've ever felt. For the first time in a while, she let me pick my favorite pink shirt. I missed it so much, I felt like my old self again… but, less anxiety. More manageable anxiety, actually. Everything felt so surreal: I was friends with Warren and his boyfriend, I was friends with Victoria, Rachel was here being true to herself and was a calmer person, Chloe has been sober for months, and I was different, a happier different. As for Kate, I could see she was becoming better, too. I could tell she was thriving, almost like she was glowing. Though, I would be happy too if the person who hurt me was in prison now. I should thank Victoria. I dunno why I haven't yet.

I approached Kate's apartment. I still had a hesitant fist, but I knocked before I could even think about changing my mind. To my surprise but not against it, Victoria opened the door. She had a glare, but it softened slightly and she smiled. For real.

"Hey Victoria." I nodded at her.

"Here to pick up Kate?" She sounded more supportive than hostile. I still wasn't comfortable with it, but like Kate told me, she really was nice.

"Yeah."

She stepped aside, allowing me into their place. Before, I used to be so scared to just look at her, scaring me every time she spoke. Now, there was a smaller amount of fear, but I was more welcomed.

"Um, I didn't get to say this before," my tone was still awkward, "But, thanks for helping with getting rid of her ex."

"It was no big deal. Kate couldn't testify at first, but I'm glad everyone believed her. It fucking sucks when no one does. Especially between two girls."

"Right." For all of June, Kate had to go with Victoria to the courthouse, different ones, I think. I offered help, but she said I helped enough and wanted to do it on her own. She wasn't very open about it, kept most of the details to herself and Victoria, but the fact that girl was in prison now was all I needed.

"… Sorry for being an asshole before." She cleared her throat. She clearly didn't want to apologize, but I knew she meant well.

"Sorry for thinking you were a bitch… I mean, you are, but—"

"I know, I know." She rolled her eyes. "But, Kate finally knows what my room looks like, so I'm less of one. I'll never forgive you or Chloe for breaking in."

"That's fair."

"But, we're friends now, alright?"

I nodded as she held her arms out, wanting to hug it out. I was reminded of the first time, her hissing into my ear. I cringed, but I went in for the hug, anyway. It was surprisingly nice and she was actually a good hugger.

When we pulled apart, Kate was standing by her doorway, smiling at both of us. Victoria didn't react defensively, instead she smiled, shrugged, and went into her room, which now the door was wide open. She told Kate to have fun and disappeared.

She approached, blushing, and making little contact with me, fidgeting with her hands. I've never been stunned to see someone, too much in awe for words. I couldn't believe she was real. Hair down, in an outfit reminiscent of the first "date" we went on, but something about it felt so different. She had to have sleeves, to cover her arms, but other than that, it was different in another way. I had to think before something stupid came out of my mouth.

"Wowser, I… Am I dreaming?" I felt dumb, but it was my own way of flirting.

She giggled, looking down at my hands, "Not at all. I'm happy it isn't."

"Me too." I felt so awkward. Rachel and Chloe would laugh right about now. "Ready to go?"

She reached out and grabbed my hand, with a grin, "Yes."

I would be lying if I said I had this planned out. We were still walking on the sidewalk, approaching school, our hands interlocked together. We had small conversations, talking about random things like movies and our classes. It wasn't "date material" questions, but it was something to fill our silence. Almost a "puppy love" sort of silence.

"Where are we going, Max?" She asked, stopping us in the middle of the sidewalk. It was slightly empty, minus the few people walking around us.

"Honestly, I couldn't think of anything." I chuckled, touching the back of my neck. "I couldn't stop thinking about the film tonight."

"Being with you at all is nice." Every sentence, every compliment she told me, ended with her shyly looking down at the ground. "I had a few ideas, but all of them would end this too soon."

We continued to walk, "Like what?"

"Well, you told me before you still haven't colored your tattoo and I thought I would take you there. I would guess you'd have to go home. I-I—" She stopped her sentence, "Never mind, it wasn't a good idea."

"No, it's great, but you're right about it ending soon. Maybe after the movie. Go ape during the night."

"'Go ape?'" She snickered to herself, "Where does that come from?"

"Warren." I rolled my eyes, but I didn't hate it. She laughed, stopping my heart and breathing from how cute it sounded.

"Then, let's see where our day takes us."

Somehow, we ended up on a mix of our other times together. With a bunch of photos to remember, of course. Going to a café, going to a museum, going into the same music store and pet shop. In the pet shop, the same little dog from before was still in the little cage, and she seemed to remember us.

"If we weren't such broke students we would get you." I pouted as she wiggled in my arms.

"We'll get one someday." Kate petted her. She hasn't stopped smiling.

I thought the sentence was normal until I caught up. "We" caught me off-guard. I dropped the dog back into the cage with the others and sighed, "Yeah, we will."

I had to take her to the same museum from before. The LGBT one, to be exact. Walking there and realizing which building we were going, she smiled even bigger, showing to be even more relaxed.

All of it was still the same as I remembered it. It was hard to forget such a place; it was all so inspiring to see. We were there as a "kinda couple" rather than friends, making the whole atmosphere, both the inside and between us, so much more. It was the same, people saying we were cute together, but we said genuine "thank you"s.

"I love this place." Kate said, low enough only I could hear it.

"Me too." I said back to her, squeezing her hand a little bit. "I would come here every day if I could."

I let her go again, walking on her own, so I could stay behind and take pictures of her again. She's so beautiful. I can't believe she likes me. She really likes me! I was running out of film, but I didn't care. It was worth it.

Next thing we knew, the sun was going down, meaning the film festival was starting soon. I had my arm around Kate's shoulders, heading back to school. When we approached the door, it swung open, revealing Warren and Nathan coming out together.

"Max!" Warren greeted, letting go of his boyfriend, "You're here for the film festival too?"

"Yeah, need to support my gir—Kate." I shut myself up. How fucking embarrassing, she isn't your girlfriend yet!

"Now she's your Kate?" He raised her eyebrow, but chuckled and turned to her, "I'm Warren! I don't think we talked before! And this is my Nathan."

She giggled and held her hand out politely to shake, "It's nice to meet you."

After the introduction (Nathan was a little awkward and I noticed he always looked pissed off), Warren said they had to go do something else, but will be back to watch. Kate and I walked into the building and went into the theater room at the end of the hall, where people were already sitting and playing a loop of title screens to the audience.

"Kate! Max!" Steph called us from the front, jogging her way up the stairs to us. "Hey, glad you could make it!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Kate replied. She hugged the both of us, "Good, wouldn't want you to. Take a seat. We'll start soon."

I suggested to find a seat in the middle, so we're looking directly at the screen without breaking our necks to see.

"When is your guys' film gonna show?"

"It might be one of the last ones." She lifted her sleeve up to check her watch. "I want to watch the other ones. "Growth" could mean anything to anyone."

"Oh yeah, I want to see the other ones, but I've been wanting to see yours."

"All I did was write it."

"Which is the most important part!"

She giggled and shook her head, but she appreciated my compliment.

It wasn't long for the theater to fill up and start the show. The director of the Digital Filmmaking & Video Production did his speech—how proud he was of every student involved, how every film idea was brilliant, expressing individuality and vast ideas—for the crowd, ending in applause, prompting the first film to start.

As the films went on—abstract flowers, mental health, life in general—Kate was subtly grabbing onto my arm, ending on hugging it and resting her head on my shoulder. We were warmer, pressed together. I can't wait to see what the film has to offer. I'm sure it's perfect. I felt like we were being watched too, like there was something paying attention to us rather than the films.

The title screen for her film popped off, titled "Growth" like everyone else's. It was clearly her drawing style, white in a nice cursive style, with "directed," "written," and "filmed" by at the bottom. Kate was credited next to written, which brought a smile to my face. I felt a squeeze on my arm.

The film started at the library, text at the bottom saying "Day One", roaming through the aisles, passing extras and windows, ending on a girl sitting at a table with a book. The girl who looked like me. She was bored, yawning as she stared down at her book. Dog, that really is me. It lingered on her for a moment, watching her as her eyes was looking off in the distance. The screen changed to another girl in an aisle, walking around aimlessly. Girl One was rubbing her eyes, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was debating with herself, until they made eye contact. Girl Two smiled at her, causing Girl One to flip back to her book, shoving the book into her face.

The crowd laughed. Kate laughed too.

The time jumped, text saying "Day Two." It was still the library, where Girl One was in new clothes, reading the same book on the same page. She was tapping her fingers on the desk, like she was impatient. Girl Two showed up again, in the same aisle, but now reading a book. Girl One looked curious, yet disappointed. Should she be disappointed? Is she sad she wasn't noticed? Girl Two looked up and Girl One went back to her own. That is… something I would do. It was now "Day Three" and Girl One was on her laptop. Tapping noises could be heard and some music from her earphones too. She was so focused, she couldn't hear a person was trying to get her attention. She had to do a double-take, shocked to see who was in front of her. Girl Two was holding a book to her chest waving and pointing at the available next in front of Girl One.

I hummed. It's a silent film. The other ones had some form of speaking in it, but now we had to pay attention to audio cues and environment. I don't mind that. The only thing we could hear was the music from the earphones, which became louder when Girl One took them out.

The film started showing their awkward and shy interactions, showing the time lapse with the days increasing. There was music playing in the background, dreamy and bouncy. They were increasingly getting closer and their body language was changing into a more relaxed state. By the time it was "Day Fifty," the setting changed to a living room. Girl One was playing a video game, but being not into it. She was clearly bored as she tossed her game controller onto the table in front of her.

The sound of her phone on the couch vibrated. We get on-screen text messages, reading blue and gray text bubbles between her and Girl Two. It was a playful conversation, teasing each other about being apart for the first time in a while. We could tell from Girl One's expressions she was happy to be texting her. I like you a lot, one text from Two said.

I had a bad feeling the movie was gonna go through... go through something.

Girl One was happy. Ecstatic, evident in her hopping around. However, with changes in Girl One's expressions, she was realizing her feelings and what they really meant. She was having a crisis, almost, and we got to witness one scene of Girl One and Two together, but One was staring with a "hopeless" kind of look. Like, as if Two didn't like her back in the same way.

Another time lapse went by, but slower, showing Girl One's life being on her couch, sulking around, and gray texts bubbles kept popping up. They were continuously showing up, but she was continuously ignoring them. Like a slow timer, it reached Day One-Hundred.

She answered back with meet me at the library and that was it.

The theater was quiet. Everything was so tense, even breathing was too loud. Kate wrote this? This has been a roller coaster of a short film. I would watch this over and over again.

Girl Two was standing alone in front of the library, looking around for Girl One. She approached from behind, camera over her shoulder. Girl Two was smiling, but Girl One wasn't. Girl One was aloof, standing away and rubbing the bottom of her shoe against the concrete. Not able to say anything, she had to take her phone out and type it instead. I like you a lot.

Girl Two read it and ended it with a smile and a silent laugh. She grabbed Girl One's face, using one hand to put the phone away, closing the space between them. When they pulled away again, they looked into each other's eyes and, for the first time, we get to hear their voices. They were giggling, still holding each other, as the camera pulled away and walked into the library.

I looked to Kate in that moment, who looked back at me. There was a moment between us. We couldn't hear anything, there was no one else around us, and all I could feel was her. We were like the characters, leaning into each other and closing our eyes.

The moment was caught off when I felt a hard pat on my shoulder. I glared at the person behind me, who happened to be Chloe. She had a happy grin, was letting me know of her presence. I chuckled and tried to reach over, but failed. Oh Chloe. You have such great timing. We missed a small amount of the film, but we saw it ended on the book Girl One was reading at the beginning. Which we missed the title being "The End."

We started to clap, until the screen showed a color "no signal" picture, while the beep played. It was the only film to show some bloopers at the end. It was a laughing mess, especially during the romantic scenes. They were trying so hard to be quiet, because of the library. On top of that, Girl One had the most scenes with bloopers. She was awkward during the texts and the sad, slow time lapse. The crowd was laughing at her (or with her, however one looked at it). It ended with everyone who was a part of the team (about eight of them), one by one, exclaiming with a director's clapboard, yelling "Action!" Kate had a small cameo too.

The crowd cheered, the loudest cheer out of all the films and, turns out, it was the last film.

"Wowser, Kate! That was amazing!"

"I love it so much! I loved how it turned out! I'm so glad you liked it." Kate hugged my arm tighter. The whole crowd had to stand up, clapping and whooping for the last submission.

The last portion of film festival was to choose which film won overall. Despite the loud praise, their submission didn't win first. Not second or third, either. It had an honorable mention, at least.

"Chloe, I can't believe you showed up!" I was still shocked to see her.

"I'm just here to support you." She pointed at Kate. "It was hella awesome! Stupid that it didn't win jack." It's stupid! Dare I say, hella stupid.

"It's fine. All that matters is that we care and love our own." She smiled sweetly. "And I'm rather proud of it."

Chloe probably had a snarky remark about the awards, but she shrugged and smiled instead.

"Well, see you two lovebirds, uh, later? I dunno, but hey! You're on a date." She patted me on my shoulder again. I did the same to hers and waved her goodbye. Lovebirds, huh? I guess.

"I guess we're going "ape" now?" Kate tried her hand at the phrase, but it was cuter coming from her.

"You know what," I nodded, heading away from the tattoo shop, "I'm a little thirsty, don't you think?"

She had a confused expression, but chuckled and said. "Yes, actually."


We just walked a bit to Starbucks instead. Hell, I didn't want this to be over. We sat at the same table and grabbed two coffees for ourselves.

"I can't believe yours didn't win! I have to watch that again. I love it, Kate." I couldn't shut up. I want to keep talking about it! It deserves first place!

"I'm glad you do." She giggled, "I love it so much. And we can! I'll just have to get it from one of them."

"Thank dog."

Two women entered the shop, which happened to be Dana and Juliet, who walked in mid-conversations and released loud laughter as they did. It didn't take long for them to notice us.

"Max! Kate!" Dana ran to us, hugging us simultaneously. Juliet did the same.

"Hey, crazy to see you two here! You guys want to sit with us? We have two more." I offered, waving my hand to the two extra seats.

"Perfect! Let us order our things and we'll sit with you two."

Kate was sitting next to me, pressing her lips as if she wanted to say something. I looked to her, placing my hand on her shoulder, "You wanna say something?"

She nodded, but pointed at Dana to talk privately. She replied with an, "oh, okay!" and left me and Juliet.

"How's school treating you?" I asked her. It was the first thing on my mind after the film.

She groaned, "Lame, but it's worth it, now I have Dana again to keep my sanity."

"I feel the same but with Kate. Sorry to start the conversation with that."

"It's cool. We go to the same one after all. I totally missed the festival, but I wouldn't be able to find meaning between title and film."

"It was straightforward." Except for the last film, there was nothing straight about it.

"Maybe I'll see some. After all, we have that first day party to go to, am I right?"

"The next one will be that movie on a loop." We shared a laugh.

When she calmed down, she said, "Thanks for bringing me and Dana together again. I've never been happier."

"No prob, Juliet. I'm happy you're happy."

The two came back, snickering (Dana was way more excited).

"What happened with you two?"

"Oh, nothing," Dana shook her head. I wasn't sure to be nervous or just ignore it. All I knew for sure was Kate was happier than she was when she left. Dana and Juliet left to order their drinks.

"What were you two talking about to react like this?"

"Oh nothing."

I wasn't worried, but I couldn't help but wonder. "Not even a hint?" She shook her head. "What about a tiny one?" She shook it again. "Microscopic?" Shook it again.

"Maybe later." She said, lifting her cup to her lips.

"What about a hint the size of an atom?" This caused her to laugh, but no agreement.

"We're back!" Dana announced as she sat next to me, holding a croissant in her hand. "We just wanted food."

After that, it was a long conversation going on and on, changing subjects naturally (the longest being about the film and how it didn't win any awards, which they were both mad about it like everyone else). It was darker outside and, turns out, we were the last ones in the shop as it was closing.

"It was nice seeing you two!" Dana hugged us again.

"You too, guys." I replied, letting go of her. "Have a safe trip back, okay?"

"Same to you! See you guys!"

Once we were far enough away from them, I had to ask it one more time. "One hint? This is the last one."

"It's nothing, Max. I promise." She said so offhandedly, not even eye contact. I didn't pay more attention to it, even though my anxiety wanted to pay attention to it.

"Dog, after that, I can't prowl anymore." I chuckled, but I was exhausted. It was nice having a conversation, and they are fun to be with, but god, we couldn't do anything else with the city being dark now.

"Me neither." Kate chuckled back, grabbing my hand and interlocking our fingers, "Want to go back home and watch more movies?"

"That would be nice right now."


We went to her apartment again, where it was quiet. Now that Victoria's door was open all the time now, we knew she wasn't there. We didn't speak since we started coming back. I didn't mind, we talked enough already.

"Dog, I'm so tired already." I yawned, starting silent and began long and drawn out in the end. "I think I need more coffee in my system."

She giggled. "Would you like me to make some?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to fall asleep on you." Literally and figuratively.

"Okay, I'll get that started for you."

It was quiet while she was getting the coffee ready. I listened to the bubbling and the opening and closing of cabinets and her feet against the ground. She sat down after she was done, setting a mug in front of me.

"I guess I have something to show you. I was talking to Dana about it." Kate sounded nervous. I turned to her, mug to my mouth and one eyebrow raised. She lifted her sleeve, just a little to show her wrist. On it, a simple, black cross was on her skin. It was still dark in color, like it happened yesterday.

"That's what you and Dana were talking about? Did you do this without me noticing somehow?" I couldn't help but reach out and touch her hand.

"Yeah, it's a start, maybe? I can't wear long sleeves forever." She still sounded unsure. "And, maybe. It happened on a whim. It hurt a lot more than I anticipated."

"That's amazing, Kate." I smiled at her. Wowser, she really did it. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't stop staring at it. She told me she wouldn't. "What made you change your mind?"

"I just… I'm already breaking a lot of rules. And nothing wrong with covering my arms with the same thing, right? I can't use Victoria's makeup forever, too."

I smiled and nodded, "That's great, Kate."

I was careful to touch it. I couldn't stop staring at it. It was real, on her skin forever, and it was the last thing I could ever imagine.

After I finished my coffee, we went into her room. Once the door closed, the room became dark, and the silence was tense. Not in a weird or awkward way. What is this atmosphere? I don't hate it… I just wish I knew what it was.

"Kate?" It was dark, except for some light from the street.

"Yes?" She approached me, grabbing my hands. Other than her hands, I could feel her body heat too. My eyes adjusted, looking straight into mine.

"I just wanna say that I'm proud of you. I can't believe I get to be with you and talk to you and just… I dunno what to say. I'm really bad at this."

"I'm proud of you too. You're so brave and strong. I can't believe I get to be with you too."

There was more silence. I felt Kate moving in, reminding me of the film. Well Chloe, you remember our dare? I'll accept your double; I closed the air between us, feeling her lips and touching her waist. I don't know what to do… I can't believe this happening! Be cool, Max! You got this! Act like you're good at this.

I've never felt a passionate kiss before, nor did I know what to do after that. Kate took control automatically and I followed along, but I was fully amateur compared to her. She was a good kisser and tasting the familiar strawberry taste made me excited.

We stopped. It was like she froze, slowly pulling her head away, avoiding looking into my eyes. Or, any part of me, to be honest. Her face was scrunched, anger and distant. She couldn't speak, but her lips were pressing together, like a word couldn't come out. Like she had no control over it.

Her hands left my body, I felt how shaky they were, and I saw her starting to take her sweater off. Like, she was forcing herself, or she was being forced to. I grabbed her face, making her eyes look into mine. "Kate? Kate, you're okay. It's just me. You don't have to do this."

She blinked at me, like she was lost. She pushed her shirt down again, "You're Max, right?"

"Yeah, Kate, it's me." I smiled at her, sighing in relief, "You're okay."

"I don't know what happened, I…"

She didn't have to finish. I hugged her, tight, close, reminding her who I was. She was hiding in my shoulder, hugging me back, and was sniffling. I felt my shoulder was becoming soaked in tears. "I'm sorry."

"Kate, none of this is your fault." I pulled away to look at her, but she hid her face in her hands. "Hey, look at me." I reached over to turn on the light, wanting to see her clearly.

A minute had to pass before she looked up: her eyes were red, she couldn't breathe, and her arms were holding herself, like she was afraid. I hate seeing those beautiful eyes so dark. Lacking life in them. Her hazel eyes seemed black.

"See? It's me, Max. Girl who kicked a vending machine? Girl who was hitting her forehead against a table? Girl who always seems to have cake pops nearby?"

She chuckled, one corner of her lip lifting up. "Max, girl who makes me happy."

I chuckled at her sentence, too. I pulled her to her bed and sat her down, "Let's watch movies, okay?"

We lied down, laptop at the end of her bed, and I held her close like she was my teddy bear. I remembered my statement, saying the whole cake pop thing, and went into my backpack pocket, where a cake pop wrapped like a lumpy, big lollipop. It was the only thing I had time to buy, which looked dumb now I was looking at it. I handed it to her, which earned a giggle from her. She muttered a thank you, but didn't eat it.

Ever since I met Kate, those pops were growing on me. I remember when I couldn't even look at them; they made my teeth feel rotten. But, like Kate, they're so sweet, so cute, and so irresistible. Maybe that's why I liked them? I dunno, but I knew I liked them now more than before.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I spoke when the credits began to roll. I feel awkward. It's a weird timing.

"Of course. What's on your mind?" She lifted her head up to look at me.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Kate Marsh?"

She gave me one more kiss, "Yes, Max Caulfield."